Mix yeast, oil, salt, sugar and water in a giant round bowl (almost a tub). Leave to froth.

Add 2 kg flour to yeasty water. Mix roughly by hand.

Knead in the bowl until all flour absorbed. The mixture is quite wet and stays wet. The kneading motion is more like scooping and folding over, with occasional pinching. It is always on the edge of the bowl and counter-clockwise.

Add another kg of flour and a slosh of water to the bowl knead until mixed.

Add yet another kg of flour (that makes 4 kg of flour in total) and a slosh of water. Knead until mixed.

Rest 10 min. It will start to rise.

Knead in handfuls of water until the mixture doesn't stick to your hand any more. The mixture should be slick and smooth and sufficiently wet that it falls off your hand and away from the bowl walls. If it gets too wet then sprinkle flour on the dough and knead in.

Cover and leave to rise 20 minutes in a warm place. The dough should rise to the top of the bowl and get less sticky.

Sprinkle some flour on a part of the dough mass. Knead that part of the dough mass a bit.

Pinch of a large blob of dough (about 350 grams worth) from the recently kneaded bit. Bear in mind that the amount of dough we’re talking about is half the size of a western loaf of bread – this is a big pita.

Transfer the dough blob to a floured work surface. Sprinkle flour on the dough blob. Knead/shape into a ball.

Repeat until you’ve a bunch of dough balls, which gives them time to rise a bit more.

Sprinkle flour over one ball (or all of them).

Flatten your chosen ball roughly with your hands. Lay your flattened ball on a round cushion or Machbazi².

Stretch the dough out over the entire Machbazi.

When the Taboon³ is hot and dry. Use the Machbazi to slap the dough onto the plate of the Taboon.

Cook, turning, until puffed and brown on top. The Pita puff up quite a bit, particularly the small ones.

Remove the cooked Pita, stack, and cover.

Wipe the plate of the Taboon.

Repeat until all done.